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Catalog Data

Artist:
Red Horse  Search this
Collector:
McChesney, Charles E.  Search this
Extent:
42 Drawings (visual works) (graphite, colored pencil, and ink; laminated, 24 x 36.25 inches)
Culture:
Minneconjou Lakota (Minniconjou Sioux)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings (visual works)
Works of art
Ledger drawings
Pictographs
Maps
Place:
Montana
North America
Date:
1881
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of forty-two (42) drawings made by Red Horse at the request of Dr. Charles E. McChesney. The drawings served as illustrations to accompany Red Horse's account of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, which McChesney recorded in support of Garrick Mallery's study of Plains sign language. The drawings are numbered 0-41 (Number 27 is now missing). The collection also includes a one-page note about the drawings by McChesney and a newspaper article about the collection. Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Biographical Note:
Red Horse was a chief of the Miniconjou division of the Lakota. He fought in the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn, and in 1881 he gave one of the few detailed accountings of the event.
Dr. Charles E. McChesney was an Army physician based at Fort Bennet, Dakota Territory in 1881.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 2367-a OPPS NEG 46999 A-K OPPS NEG 47000 A-L OPPS NEG 47001 A-K OPPS NEG 72-3915 CN-72-3955 CN
Publication Note:
Map and Numbers 5, 8, 12, 16, 27 (now missing), 30, 32, 39, and 41 were published in: Mallery, Garrick. "Picture Writing of the American Indians," Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology 10. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1893. Plates 39-48.
Related Materials:
The National Anthropological Archives also holds: MS 2367-b Red Horse's Account of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Montana, June 25, 1876, in Gesture-Signs, to illustrate the Syntax of the Sign-Language of the North American Indians.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Topic:
Little Big Horn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876  Search this
Genre/Form:
Works of art
Ledger drawings
Pictographs
Maps
Citation:
MS 2367-a Red Horse pictographic account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.MS2367A
See more items in:
MS 2367-a Red Horse pictographic account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3ff7723cc-d203-47f5-b047-b271fc6c2038
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-ms2367a